Poplar Forest Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70,137 shares during the period. Dollar Tree accounts for approximately 3.7% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Poplar Forest Capital LLC owned 0.08% of Dollar Tree worth $25,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar Tree in the fourth quarter worth about $15,638,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in Dollar Tree by 155.2% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 31,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,443,000 after buying an additional 19,019 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Dollar Tree by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 112,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,986,000 after buying an additional 38,517 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Dollar Tree in the fourth quarter worth about $4,247,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Dollar Tree by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $834,000 after buying an additional 2,893 shares during the period. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar Tree Price Performance

Shares of DLTR traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $122.39. 1,738,308 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,782,645. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Dollar Tree, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.77 and a 52-week high of $161.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $134.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.86. The company has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.90.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $8.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.66 billion. Dollar Tree had a positive return on equity of 15.11% and a negative net margin of 3.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Dollar Tree, Inc. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DLTR shares. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar Tree in a report on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Dollar Tree from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Dollar Tree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Dollar Tree from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Dollar Tree from $130.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar Tree presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.05.

Insider Transactions at Dollar Tree

In other Dollar Tree news, CFO Jeffrey A. Davis bought 1,800 shares of Dollar Tree stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $136.00 per share, for a total transaction of $244,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,392. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Jeffrey A. Davis purchased 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $136.00 per share, for a total transaction of $244,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 19,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,392. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Heinrich purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $127.85 per share, for a total transaction of $127,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $795,866.25. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Dollar Tree Profile

Dollar Tree, Inc operates retail discount stores. The company operates in two segments, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. The Dollar Tree segment offers merchandise at the fixed price of $ 1.25. It provides consumable merchandise, which includes everyday consumables, such as household paper and chemicals, food, candy, health, personal care products, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise comprising toys, durable housewares, gifts, stationery, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, arts and crafts supplies, and other items; and seasonal goods that include Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine's Day merchandise.